The Project:
I really loved the exploration of visual research that we were encouraged to do during this semester. I can see how specific assignments impacted my work directly. The assignments that did this were all once where we were asked to conduct in-depth visual research, looking to art for art inspiration. I am thankful to see this direct effect in my work, I will continue this process in the future. Each time we were asked to go to museums or investigate art or a specific artist I made sure I really soaked up what I was seeing. I was looking at art in a new way. I have admired art my whole life but this semester I began to look at art for direct inspiration in my work, I feel it gave my work strong direction and helped me during the creation process. I think in this day and age we must acknowledge that anything we make will in some way be related to some other works of art and to know and accept that has been freeing. The visual research for me took mostly an aesthetic route. What I was looking at and taking in, ended up impacting my work the most visually from the Homage project forward. It helped the final product of my work be more predictable. I did switch around through mediums and ideas but I untimely stuck with the same pastel color palette I had imaged in my head when we began the last two projects.
For me my seminar paper came along long after the idea for my final project so they had little correlation. In my other classes however, my seminar paper and the art that I researched did impact the work that I ended up creating. I researched feminist art in the 20th century and performance art really stood out to me, I am now creating a performance life video self portrait for my Time class. For studio and seminar however the two remind pretty separate due to the timing of conception of each and the guidelines for the paper.
I am quite proud of my final for this class. I stuck to the same idea through the latter part of the process and was determined in what I wanted to create. I feel that I did achieve what I was hoping to and that’s always a cool feeling to make what is in your head come to live in the way you wanted. I am realizing more and more that I love learning about the human experience and that I want create a comfort in the content I create because the viewer can see it and see that they are not alone. Here with this video I feel, based on feedback, that I was able to achieve that for the viewer.
I think that taking a long time to cultivate this project was beneficial. We were able to work through our ideas, sit with them and more forward in our projects clear and determined. At least that is what experienced. I think that often our first idea is not the one you’ll be most proud of, so I am glad that we got time to sift through our ideas and grow them with intent, not stress of a fast approaching deadline. This made my work clear and well planned out in my head.
The Cache:
This is a photo taken by Petra Collins:
This photo was a big inspiration for the visuals of my final. This image is very dreamy, teenage, an homey. I wanted to emulate those aspects in my video. There are clear influences of the persons childhood in the image. For my visuals I wanted them to feel peaceful and dream like just like this image. I played on the soft light and pastel colors that are seen here.
This is Super8 video by a youtube named Madelynn De La Rosa:
This was a home video she recorded on her super8 camera and the visuals of this were also a big influence for my final. I have a super8 of my own but the size and length of my video made it not smart to film with that camera. The film and developing is very expensive and takes a lot of time. So I edited my video to look as if it was filmed on a super8. I feel the old film look makes the video feel like a old home movie.
Wall of Ambassadors by Toyin Ojih Odutola 2017
Her work was a big inspiration for me through out the semester. She is young and making beautiful art that I look up to. The biggest inspiration that I took from her work was her color palette, especially in her recent work. The softness of the pastels was also a very captivating magical quality that I wanted to use in my own visuals. Originally I wanted to make a series of pastels but I decided on a video format for multiple reasons: however, I still carried the inspiration of her use of color with me.
Still from the film Atonement
I saw this film for the first time this year and was captivated by the soft visuals in the beginning of the film.
Photographs at the MoMA
These were images of mundane USA and the normality of the images inspired me to play that up in my final, highlight the simple things.
Anselm Kiefer Morgenthau Plan
This was the painting at The Met that I chose to look at for an hour. I had a very beautiful experience while doing this and this painting has my heart. Its dark but yet dreamy and light, I feel as if I am in a field when I look at it. I wanted to try and have the same sensation from my video, have it be able to transport people.
Painting in Natural History Museum
This was a back drop for a scene of Gorillas. This was the type of scenery that I was inspired by when filming. Sun light and peace.
photo by Sofia Salazar of their embroidery work
I just started following this artist this past semester and am constantly in awe of their work. I just find it very delicate and calm to look at. That is a feeling I try to evoke in the viewing of my work.
Between the Margins by Toyin Ojih Odutola 2017
This is another one of her recent pastel pieces and again the colors I find to be so beautiful. I also find the scene of this drawing to be moving and intriguing. I took a lot of inspiration from the framing as well.
